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fancode's profile

Contributor

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2 Messages

Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 6:26 PM

Is there prorating or not?

My wireless bill is issued on the 23rd of each month, and it is for service to be rendered in the upcoming 30 days. The chat reps at ATT say I can't recieve any prorating of the bill if I port to Verizon (as an example) three days into the billing cycle, yet the phone reps at ATT say I will only have to pay for the three days, not the entire period as the chat reps contend. I put this to three phone reps, who all said I will be issued a prorated bill, but both of the chat reps contend that the bill can't be prorated...who is confusing me the most?

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

Guru

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294 Messages

10 years ago

Like I said, depends on your account. So if you are billed in advance, the final bill is not prorated. The phone reps gave you wrong information if you are billed in advance. 

 

5.1   What Are The General Terms That Apply To All AT&T Voice Rate Plans?

You may obtain usage information by calling customer service or using one of our automated systems. Pricing/Taxes/No Proration: Prices do not include taxes, directory assistance, roaming, Universal Service Fees, and other surcharges. Final month's charges are not prorated

 

http://www.att.com/shop/en/legalterms.html?toskey=wirelessCustomerAgreement#whatHappensIfMyServIsCancelled

 

 

That's why it's always suggested to port out as close as possible to the end of the billing cycle, since you'll be charged for entire month anyways. 

Guru

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294 Messages

10 years ago

The final bill is not prorated unless you are on a very old account from when ATT billed in arrears. If you pay in arrears, which is for services that have already been provided, it will be prorated. If you pay in advance for services (which most customers are), it will not be prorated. So, basically, it depends on how old your account number is.  

Contributor

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2 Messages

10 years ago

ujmnz- I understand the billing protocols, but ATT chat reps state that even if I port my numbers three days into the billing cycle for advance service, I will still be held to pay for the entire month despite the fact that I only used 10% of the 30 days service at ATT. The ATT phone reps state a different case, saying that I will only be charged for the time of use, not the entirety of the monthly service. One side of ATT has to be wrong, hence my quesion.

Expert

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10.1K Messages

10 years ago

I wrote the following based on U-verse service. Looks like the rules for wireless are differemt & do not allow for prorating  a final billing period. Perahps this is because most cancels for u-verse are "forced, such as a move" & most wireless are a decision to move to another carrier. The customer agrees to this up front without realizing the unfairness & inconsistency with other prepaid service.

 

 

My perspective is that both the first bill and the final bill are prorated - i.e. adjusted proportionally for a partial period.
Every intermediate bill is for a full billing period.
The first bill contains additional one time charges and the (prorated) period from the install to the billing date and the anticipated charges for the next billing period.
The last bill contains any one time charges and a credit for the (prorated) period from the billing date to the disconnect.

The first bill is usually more than intermediate bills due to the extra charges. The last bill is usually less than intermediate bills because the prorated amount is a credit for unused service period. And, there are no charges for the next billing period.

Perhaps the confusion is - The customer may be requesting a final bill instead of a "normal" intermediate bill in anticipation of a disconnect. This would not be possible because because the disconnect has not yet taken place. The key factor is that the final (prorated) bill cannot be issued until after the disconnect occurs.

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